The highs of August seem a long time ago for Manchester United, but the fixture list suggests that things could be on the way up once again.
Sir Alex Ferguson is 25 years in charge of Manchester United this week and his players are probably glad of all the tributes flowing in the direction of their purple-faced manager because it will distract attention away from their on-field woes at the moment.
Their humbling at the hands of bitter rivals Manchester City came at the end of a run in which they seemed to be pushing their luck against a series of teams and their displays since the 6-1 defeat are the sign of a team woefully lacking in confidence at the moment.
At the start of the year, United seemed unstoppable and their free-flowing performances were reflected by the points tallies of their main men in the fantasy football charts. Since then, however, it’s all gone Pete Tong for the Red Devils, and alarmingly so.
Take Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Nani for instance. In his last five games, Rooney has managed a meagre 14 points. Young, currently injured, has 15 points from his last five games and Nani has only seven from his last four appearances, none of which saw him last the full 90 minutes.
Considering Fergie has rotated the sh*t out of his defence and midfield, so far, the only beacon of consistency has been David de Gea, who has made more saves than any goalkeeper in the league and is the joint highest-scoring stopper.
Many managers would have got rid of Rooney, Nani and company in the last few gameweeks and they would have been well entitled due to their massive price and the need to introduce other in-form expensive recruits such as Robin van Persie, Rafael Van der Vaart and Sergio Aguero.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel for United fans in the form of the fixture list, with the champions not due to meet another realistic title contender until Arsenal at the end of January. Beating the lesser sides has been United’s strength over the last couple of seasons and as such, there is potential for their players to rack up the points in the fantasy stakes from now until after the Christmas period.
The likes of Young and Nani might be injured and out of form respectively, but there are other alternatives to choose from.
With Wayne Rooney being withdrawn into a deeper midfield role, Javier Hernandez (£10.0 million) is likely to see more game time up front, Phil Jones (£6.0 million) has established himself as a first team regular in his short time at the club and although he’s currently injured, expect to see more of Tom Cleverley (£5.5 million) in the coming weeks.
By the time United do come face to face with the Gunners once again, we’ll have a better idea whether their current run is merely a blip or a sign of a more permanent malaise.
JOE’s Fantasy Football Picks:
Top Dollar: Rafael Van der Vaart (£10.3 million). On current form, the Dutchman is impossible to ignore. The mercurial midfielder has scored six goals in his last five games and has averaged over ten points a match in the same period. You get the feeling that this run will eventually come to an end, but against Fulham away and with Spurs in the run of form they’re in at the moment, he should flourish once more.
Mid-Range: Charlie Adam (£8.9 million). Hasn’t quite had the same impact as last season, but that was always going to be the case when he’s not as relied upon as he was at Blackpool last season. He’s still weighed in with two goals and four assists and his ability at set-pieces means he’s always likely to be a threat.
Bargain Basement: Michel Vorm (£4.4 million). Vorm is probably the substitute ‘keeper in plenty of fantasy teams, but he’s the highest scoring ‘keeper in the league alongside Manchester United’s David de Gea. He’ll have his work cut out keeping a clean sheet against Liverpool at Anfield, but saves win points as well and only two ‘keepers have made more than the Dutchman this season.
Irish Pick: Leon Best (£5.2 million). Demba Ba might be grabbing all the headlines, but Best has made a significant impact alongside him up front and helped himself to two assists against Stoke on Monday. Considering the injuries and suspensions in the Irish squad at present, it’s criminal that he was overlooked for the Estonia games.
Captain’s Pick: Robin van Persie (£12.4 million). Will be full of confidence after his magnificent hat-trick against Chelsea last weekend and should be fresh having only come on for half an hour against Marseille. The form player in the league at the moment.
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